21% of US shoppers are using voice or chatbots for commerce

Hands on or hands off, the new generation of virtual assistants is engaging American consumers in a big way — hands down.

A wide array of voice devices — now starring smart speakers, but also including smartphones and other computing platforms —and text-based chatbots on smartphones, tablets and computers, are getting consumers hooked on the ease of interactive communication, noted Mastercard and Mercator. The migration to conversational commerce is a natural.